Cybertaxonomy to Overcome Taxonomic Impediments: A Discussion in the Context of Plants of India

Abstract

The highly unorganized taxonomic data needs to be organised to better understand the taxa. The term ‘taxonomic impediment’ is now widely used to indicate taxonomic research obstacles, one of which is the inadequate accessibility of taxonomic data. Cybertaxonomy, the use of multiple databases of taxonomic information to produce an accurate taxonomy, can help overcome taxonomic impediment. Since taxonomic revision involves organising fragmented data on taxa, the use of cybertaxonomic information can accelerate taxonomic research, especially in India where revision of several plant taxa is still pending. Historically, most of the plants known in India were scientifically discovered by European botanists before Independence, and the original material and other relevant documents are now in Europe. As long as access to these materials is not possible, the taxonomic revision of many plant taxa will not be completed. Cybertaxonomy allows faster and better access to various information, including original material, protologues and literature. Therefore, cybertaxonomic resources have been investigated for their usefulness in the taxonomic revision of plants.